Court of Castle Chamber

The Court of Castle Chamber (which was sometimes simply called Star Chamber) was an Irish Court of special jurisdiction which operated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

It was established by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571 to deal with cases of riot, all other offences against public order, and offences which threatened the security of the Crown. It was explicitly modelled on the English Court of Star Chamber, and it was often referred to simply as Star Chamber. It took its own name from the chamber (which no longer exists) which was specially built for it in Dublin Castle, situated over the main gate.

Castle Chamber, like Star Chamber, was initially very popular with members of the public who, under the guise of complaining about cases of riot or public disorder, brought their private lawsuits to Castle Chamber, which was often swamped with business of this kind as a result. Nonetheless its jurisdiction to hear private cases was often questioned, and was not finally confirmed until 1634.

In the seventeenth century, Castle Chamber, like its English counterpart Star Chamber, was seen by the Stuart dynasty as an essential instrument for enforcing strong royal government in the three kingdoms, and it became highly unpopular as a result. Its use by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1632-1641) was virtually all-powerful in that Kingdom, as the principal instrument for subduing his, and the King's, political opponents was one of the principal reasons for his downfall in 1641. During the political upheaval caused by the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Court simply ceased to operate, although there is no record that it was ever formally abolished. It was not revived after the Restoration of 1660.

While Star Chamber developed gradually over a long time, Castle Chamber was established by a special commission under the privy seal of Queen Elizabeth I in June 1571. Due to the perceived ineffectiveness of the regular Irish courts in dealing with serious crimes, the establishment of a separate Star Chamber jurisdiction in Ireland was a key reform proposed by successive Lord Deputies, notably Sir Henry Sidney, who in the months before his recall to England, at the end of his first term as Lord Deputy, helped to draw up the plans for the new court. In time this project gained the support of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and of the Queen herself. In the Queen's own words:

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